Monday, September 10, 2007

HR update time and this one is a biggie. Over the weekend Harold dropped a huge bomb on the case by providing the press with a statement blaming his firing on racial issues.....

Reynolds’s filing in state court in Hartford described instances of sexual harassment and lewd and drunken acts by white employees in which the punishment fell far short of termination. Reynolds has said that he only gave a hug to a female intern, who later complained.

“ESPN’s rush to its decision to terminate Mr. Reynolds was affected by racial bias,” the filing said. Reynolds now works for mlb.com.

The incidents listed included one in which an analyst showed a cellphone photograph of his genitals to male and female employees and received a one-week suspension. In June, a makeup artist for “Cold Pizza,” a defunct talk show, sued ESPN, saying she was fired after complaining about sexual harassment by the host, Jay Crawford, and an analyst, Woody Paige.

In a statement, ESPN said “Mr. Reynolds’s new claims represent a litigation strategy designed to deflect attention from his own conduct.”- NY Times

While I'm normally inclined to agree with Harold....isn't one of the people that has been brought up repeatedly Mike Tirico? And isn't Mike Tirico black as well??? Seems like a calculated lawyer type move, but we'll see how it plays out in a year and a half!!!!!

Update: Here's ESPN's official response....

In a statement, ESPN said it will “respond to these allegations in court and vigorously defend against them. We will not publicly discuss personnel matters other than to note that Mr. Reynolds’ new claims represent a litigation strategy designed to deflect attention from his own conduct”- Sports Business Daily